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V is for Very F***ing Amazing

Scanning with my Epson 3170 was just too much of a pain. It could only do a single scan at a time which just wasted my time. As I had also switched to a betterscanning.com holder, I had to physically place the diffusing plastic over the frame and top corner of the holder every time I wanted to scan otherwise I would end up with horrible light banding and colour streaks. The 3170 uses a dual light strip in the hood so you don’t get an even spread of light over medium format scans. Fine for 35mm, horrible for 120.

So to up my game I picked up an Epson V700, and what a beast it is. The thing is fracking huge. Unlike the 3170 it has a single moving light which passes over negatives at the same time as the scanner lens. This is why just the hood alone is nearly as thick as the old 3170. It can handle 6 frames of 120 at once or 24 frames of 35mm (Must remember to ask them to cut strips into 6s and not 4s) and the digital ice is an absolute God send (Works brilliantly in speed mode, I’ve yet to try quality). I can just leave it scanning in the background while I get on with other things. A huge plus. Even though it has an optical resolution of 6400dpi, scanning at 2400 is more then enough for me. I can’t see me printing up 30″x30″ any time soon. People give the bundled holders a hard time but coming from the 3170 holder, they are brilliant and do a good job of holding the film flat. It’s even hooked up over Firewire! All I need now is a Mamiya 7ii and I’m set…